Questions from June 2010
My husband wrote off my 2002-plate 1.4 diesel Fiesta and I am now left with the quandary of what to replace it with. I need a diesel because of the amount of miles I do each year. I also have three small...
In your road test you thought the 500C drove like a sports car and was as good as the Mini Cooper thanks to the anti-roll bar. Is this the same as a torsion bar, which appears to be installed in the Diesel...
For a while I had been sceptical about the benefits of using higher quality fuel opposed to cheaper supermarket grades. Now that I have been using Shell on a regular basis, it has cleaned the injectors...
I have a 2003 Ford Galaxy fitted with original alloy wheels. These have become scraped and have slight signs of corrosion on them. This is my first vehicle with alloys and none of the tyres hold their...
I am looking for a estate car. I am a part-time singer and am looking for the right car for me. It needs to be a good size for my music gear, reliable, good on fuel and cost around the £5000 mark. Should...
I have a 2002 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI EST. I've owned the car for three years now and I bought the car with the view of keeping it for 5-7 years. The car is fantastic, as it has seven seats and gives me...
I am a qualified mechanic with 9 years' experience. I did a wee job for a guy from my local pub, fitting handbrake cables on an Isuzu Trooper. I torqued the wheels afterwards, took it for an MoT and back...
We're struggling to make a choice between a Ford S-Max and the new Peugeot 5008. We're trying hard not to be dazzled by the bells and whistles on the 5008, and do feel slightly nervous that with so much...
The Suzuki Ignis 1.3 engine pre-2003 was a chain cam I believe - do you know if the facelifted 1.3-litre model from 2003 is also chain cam?
I have been told recently that it is illegal in the UK to hire cars to people over 75. Can this be true? I am 75, my wife 73. We both have cars and clean licences, and drive daily. We live in Aberdeen...
I've just bought a 2007 BMW 335i from a private seller - sold as seen. I took out a full BMW warranty on the car on the same date. I recently noticed a rattling noise coming from under the car. Thinking...
I have a Vauxhall Vectra estate, 1.9CDTi. Do you know if this car has a timing belt or a timing chain?
I own an R-reg Ford Galaxy GLX, 2-litre. I want something a little cheaper to run, as I do two one-and-a-half-hour school runs a day through town. Will the 1997 SEAT Alhambra diesel as a 1.9-litre be cheaper...
Our insurance company has told us they are writing off our car based on information supplied by my husband when we raised the claim. What is the process for buying back the car and getting it repaired...
I'd like to recommend K&M Auto-Techniks of Windsor. They are simply brilliant. As a female driver I have been pretty consistently unhappy with service I have received at garages - many, many over the years....
I bought a 2004 Porsche C4S with 10,000 miles on the clock (40,000 now) from a Porsche main dealer in 2007. Two weeks ago the engine blew up, which Porsche diagnosed as an intermediate shaft failure. I...
I have bought a used Volkswagen Polo on which the passenger side airbag was deactivated by the previous owner. Volkswagen is quoting £120.00 for this work. Could you recommend somewhere else who would...
My wife bought an 2.0 TDI Audi A3 in 2005 and had a dual mass flywheel replaced under warranty after 36,000 miles in 2007. It's now out of warranty, has done 76,000 miles and needs a second DMF. Do you...
I have a 57-plate Picasso on 41,000 miles. Within the warranty period the gearbox would clunk and the dashboard would display "autogearbox fault". It has been back to a Citroen garage and they can't replicate...
I am looking at the Skoda Yeti 4x4 diesel engines available and note that the 110bhp version uses more diesel and emits more Co2 than the 140bhp, which itself also uses more diesel and has higher emissions...
Is your car covered if it is damaged in a loading bay by a lorry?
I have just started working with Motor Trade policies. Can anyone tell me what they are? Who can have one? My main focus is to look at the indemnity issues and obtain evidence to prove that the individual...
A week ago my 2005 Volkswagen Passat SE 2.0 TDI, which I have had since new, broke down and I had to call a recovery service. It turned out to be no.3 cylinder injector which had to be replaced. This could...
I have a 2004 Volkswagen Lupo 1.4 16v with a full service history, just over 16,700 miles on the clock, always garaged, never screwed the car. My low emissions light came on, so I phoned the Volkswagen...
My vote for most disregarded road sign goes to the warning at the side of a newly surfaced road. Typically, one is “instructed” to keep below 20mph (or even lower) because of flying grit. I have just returned...
My daughter needs a new car. We were going for a Vauxhall Meriva 1.6 16v Breeze 2005 with 62,000 miles for £3999, and she needs me to lend £1500 for this p/x deal. When we get to garage they've got a Citroen...
A friend is buying a new Volvo S40 Drive diesel. Is this model susceptible to the problems with particulate filters that seem to feature so strongly in your Telegraph column and, if so, what advice should...
In a few months, the contract on my personal contract lease car (Honda Civic i-CDTi) will finish, and as I am considering retiring sometime in the near future, I do not wish to lock myself into a new agreement....
I have followed with interest your views on left-foot braking as being the safe way to control a vehicle, and I cannot understand why! Having driven autos for many years, I decided to try out your method...
I own a Citroen Berlingo XTR first registered in Nov 2009. My wife suffers from Lupus, a disease which can be aggravated by exposure to UV light. I thought it would be a simple matter to ask how much UV...
I was driving at about 20mph on the near side of a suburban main road in bright daylight when a K-reg Audi suddenly pulled in front of me and stopped. I applied full ABS brakes but just hit his rear nearside....
I recently purchased a 57-reg Ford Fiesta Zetec from my local dealer. I have switched the air conditioning on several times since I bought it, but with the weather being so inclement I couldn't tell if...
I bought a '54 Volkswagen Touran 2.0TDi sport a month ago. I paid a high price because the car is as clean as a whistle inside and out and has done 100,000 miles. It has a full Volkswagen service history....
Last year I said goodbye to a much-loved 1992 Peugeot 405. Its replacement is a Focus Style, a good car but has rock hard uncomfortable seats. Does a manufacturer exist who makes replacement seats?
I recently took delivery of a Skoda Octavia L&K 1.8 TSI DSG Estate and the engine/gearbox combination is superb (much better than my previous 3.2 DSG Passat). From previous Octavia Estate experience I...
I have a Nissan Patrol 2004 GR 3.0 diesel. During January 2010 (six months ago, just) it had a head gasket failure at 130,000 miles, and was repaired by an independent garage (a member of the Good Garage...
I am considering buying a used Porsche Cayman S. The car in question is for sale at a respected large local independent in Aberdeen who specialises in prestige cars. It is a June 2006 Cayman S Automatic,...
I am thinking of buying a Mercedes-Benz - a 1998 C240 has caught my eye. I know this site says that the ECU can go after 12 years. Is this only with the C200 or all C-Class models? Or should I go for a...
I have had a torrid time with Mazda. My wife's Mazda 5 Sport diesel, bought new in May '08, was serviced last year and taken again this year to Mazda Coventry (Coventry Motor Company) on 7th May for its...
My Peugeot 107 has done 21,000 miles in 3.5 years. The power steering unit failed recently and was replaced by a Peugeot-approved garage. The bill was approx £650. I approached Peugeot customer care pointing...
I love my 2003 1.2-litre 3-door Clio and have had Renaults for the past 10 years or so (Clios and a Scenic for a while). Due to a problem with my left hip I now need an automatic car, and am open to something...
I have a X-reg Nissan Primera SE Plus with 140,000 miles. I was wondering if it would be better to buy a W-reg Hyundai XG30? Are the Hyundais rated as good cars?
I have a Mk4 1998 Volkswagen Golf. How easy is it to change the offside front wing?
We have a Golf 1.9 DSG SE on an '05 plate, it has just done 82,000 miles. We do approx 15-18,000 miles a year, the car is serviced every year and has just had an oil change, plus new rear discs and pads....
What do you think of the 2005 petrol Volkswagen Golf Plus 1.6SE 5-door, with manual gearbox, and in particular the FSi engine? Have there been problems with it?
I have a Scenic Expression 2001 which is great, but has poor fuel consumption and steering in winds, and is on its fifth new coil. I wish to change it and am considering the Nissan Note 1.5 dci N-Tec,...
I currently own a Golf TDI (2003) with 126,000 miles on the clock, but I would like to trade it in for a BMW 320d (2003) with 100,000 on the clock and I'm not sure what to do. Which car is faster and has...
I 'm 6 feet 5 inches and currently drive a Ford Mondeo Ghia X 2.5 Estate S-reg. It meets my priority requirements; long legroom (with doubly adjustable steering wheel), cruise control, good performance...
Since purchasing this vehicle from new we have had the back brakes changed as the adjusters were faulty and caused severe wear on the shoes. We have just had the Comms2000 unit changed. This was all done...
I'm looking for a reliable, cheap runaround that's able to take me the long distance to uni as a second car. I'm a 22-year-old student and hence looking for a low insurance and tax group which is cheap...
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